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Hello everyone,
How are you doing? hope you are having a great week. If you are not, hang in there and do what you need to do to get through the week. Just make sure whatever it is you do is good for you.
When I'm not having a good day or someone has ticked me off as was the case this morning (and guess who it was? My bald headed husband😄😄😄), I try to calm myself down by reflecting on the event and try to make some sense of it. Sometimes it's nothing too serious and I let it go but sometimes it keeps niggling at me and I either have to have a conversation with the person concerned or do something to get my mind off it if I can't have that conversation straight away. Sometimes that thing I have to do is journaling or I head to my craft room (which at the moment just happens to be my dining table 😁).
So today I decided to journal on my blog and write about something that excites me which is #papercraft. Specifically I am thinking about those of you out there who have a flair for #crafting and are particularly interested in paper floristry but just don't know where to start. Don't worry I was and I'm still in that situation. Let me explain. As I go on this #paperflower journey, I have learnt a lot but have found that there is still sooooooooooo much to learn. I haven't even scratched the surface of what's possible and that scares and thrills me all at the same time. But one thing is clear, you have to make a start. Stop thinking about it just start and start with what you've got - whatever that is. It could be an ordinary piece of paper and some glue. And one more thing, be patient with kind to yourself. It will go wrong many times and that's absolutely perfectly fine.
On my journey as a paper crafter, I have acquired quite a few tools of the trade and still acquiring more. When I first started out making paper flowers, I used whatever I had around me. To start with, I used tacky glue to put my flowers together but quickly realized that this would not do at all.
You see, the glue took much longer to dry and as you will soon find out when making flowers, petals need to be handled carefully (especially if working with crepe) and need to dry quickly so that you can move on to the next part of the process otherwise it will take hours to complete just one flower. Also because tacky glue is wet and doesn't dry as quickly, it's very easy to have smears and stains all over your beautiful work so you end up with an untidy unprofessional finish.
So the first thing I had to commit to was a good #gluegun. That my friend is an essential tool in your kit if you want to enjoy and produce good quality #paperflowers. The glue dries quickly and provides very strong hold. There are quite a few different sized glue guns but I have found that so far all I need is the 7mm and the 11mm glue guns. If you intend to make very large flowers, then you might want to consider getting a 15mm glue gun. You also have the option of low temperature glue guns which melt the glue sticks at a lower temperature and so are safer to handle but do not provide as strong a hold as the hot melt glue guns. Having said that they still provide a strong hold and should still be used with caution. Glue guns are easily available online or in most large hardware stores and they have plenty glue stick options. Here are my favourite places to buy good quality glue guns are: floristry warehouse ,florist supplies ,AFS. I do have to say that all three of these require a trade account to get the amazing discounts on offer. and no I am not in any affiliate deal with them (at least not yet 😁😉).
Glue gun sticks come in various lengths, colours and sizes. I tend to buy them in bulk as I use them a lot. I have no need for coloured glue guns at the moment so I buy the clear ones from an excellent florist store in Milton Keyenes called #CNGfloristsundries. You can also get them in most arts and craft stores but if you intend to use them a lot, it isn't cost effective to buy smaller quantities from arts and craft stores. Find wholesale store where you can buy them in bulk which works out cheaper in the long run. Another good website where I have found craft bargains is #specialistcrafstartdesign
A note on glue gun sticks. There are good quality glue sticks and poor quality ones. Poor quality glue stick will not pump out well.
Another set of essential tools are bone tools or dowel rods. These are critical tools for folding, creasing and curling the petals of your flower templates or for any paper craft project for that matter. This is what turns your cardstock from a flat piece of paper to a beautiful, voluminous 3D wonder. Now when I first started, I didn't have these tools and so improvised. I used what I had available at the time which included pencils, pens, the edge of my scissors etc. |These served their purpose at the time but when you do acquire a bone folder and dowel rods, you can tell the difference.
Phew! That's plenty for now. I hope you find this guide useful. If you have any questions please ask away and I'll do my best to answer them.
In my next blog post I will be sharing a tutorial on how to make a simple 3d paper flower craft which can be used to create lots of different decor ideas and after that, it will be lots of Christmas related posts and tutorials.
If you haven't subscribed yet or joined the BPC family do so by clicking on the members area and joining or filling out the subscription form. In the members area, you can share photos of your own crafts that you have made based on my tutorial, ask questions and meet other like minded crafters.
Also your subscription to the blog gives you access to my templates for free. You see although I will be sharing some free tutorials on the blog, you will need to be a subscriber to be able to access the free templates.
Till next time everyone, stay blessed.
Bloomingly yours!
Barbara (aka beulah)
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